Tweet
Here is a great read from Hoopsworld that is full of laughs. 
NBA Top 5: Lotto Lucky Charms
The television coverage of last night's NBA Draft Lottery didn't spend a whole lot of time on lucky charms, but before announcing the draft order they did make sure to comment on how the late Wizards owner Abe Pollin's wife Irene was wearing his 1978 championship ring for luck. As the team with the fifth-worst record in the league, it came as quite a shock when Washington came up with the top pick.
Turns out that particular lucky charm worked. Abe would've been a happy guy.
Not everybody's charms worked, though; Danny Granger's John Wall Pacers jersey hidden under his white blazer didn't help their position, nor did Minnesota's custom-made Lucky Charms cereal boxes with the team's mascot on the front have much effect. Still, it's fun to see what these teams come up with, and that's why this week's NBA Top 5 takes a look at history's most notable (and sometimes ridiculous) draft lottery lucky charms.
Top 5 NBA Draft Lottery Lucky Charms
#5 – Red's Stogie Butts (1998) – This one makes the top five only because it's exactly the sort of classic lucky charm that all lottery representatives should bring to the event. It's not ridiculous, it's not a PR stunt, it's just a logical, lucky object to take along in hopes of sneaking into the top 3. Fortunately for Celtics GM Chris Wallace, this particular charm didn't work as planned. Wallace brought two half-smoked cigars from legendary Boston coach Red Auerbach, however those butts ended up yielding only the #10 pick. Why is that so lucky? Because Michael Olowokandi was the #1 overall pick that year. With the tenth selection, Wallace snatched up Paul Pierce.
#4 – Mr. Potato Head Likes White Chocolate (1998) – That same year, a Sacramento radio station held a contest to come up with a lucky charm idea for the Kings. Interestingly enough, the Kings could've taken Mike Bibby with that top overall pick and wouldn't have had to trade Jason Williams for him a few years later. Instead, the Kings ended up taking Williams at pick #7, and while they enjoyed some entertaining seasons with him at point guard, it wasn't until they made the deal for Bibby that they really started getting deep into the playoffs. In any event—Mr. Potato Head? Really? That was the best Sacramento radio listeners could come up with?
#3 – Dave DeBusschere and the Lucky Horseshoe (1985) – For the first ever draft lottery, Knicks legend Dave DeBusschere represented his former team on the night when they'd earn the right to draft Patrick Ewing, the prize of that year's class. Some claim the whole thing was set up in a conspiracy to get Commissioner David Stern's favorite franchise the top overall pick and a team-saving player, but that, of course, is pretty silly. What's only slightly less silly is the team's belief that a lucky horseshoe from On the Road Again—the pacing Triple Crown winner from that year—was enough to land the Knickerbockers the top overall selection. It did work, for whatever that's worth. Unless Stern really did rig the whole thing. In which case, never mind.
#2 – Pacers Call Upon the Spiritual World (1989) – Donnie Walsh, then the general manager of the Indiana Pacers, contacted several Indianapolis-area psychics and asked them to flood the psycho-sphere with positive vibrations. The idea was that this would please the gods of luck land the Pacers the top overall pick in that year's draft. Unfortunately, they didn't end up with any of the top three picks and were forced to select seventh. That yielded them George McCloud, but even had they gotten the top pick it would've been Pervis Ellison, so not a whole lot of love lost there. Perhaps the more troubling issue with this development is that psychics were proven not to be real.
#1 – Holy Virgin Mary Water from Lourdes, France (2007) – Greg Oden and Kevin Durant made this draft a particularly important one, and Minnesota was so desperate to sneak into the top two that they flew to France and trekked to a village where the Virgin Mary supposedly appeared in 1958. Whichever of the Wolves' unlucky interns had to make the journey came back with a vial of holy water from Lourdes and gave it to Randy Foye for the lottery event, but it did nothing to boost the team's chances. They stayed at pick #7 and ended up with Corey Brewer.
Honorable Mention:
Bolo Can You Go? (1987) – Thanks to a bolo tie clasp with a red chameleon imprinted on it, the San Antonio Spurs were able to take David Robinson with the first overall selection that June. That worked out well, because picks #2 and #3 ended up being Armon Gilliam and Dennis Hopson. Even though Robinson couldn't join the team until 1989 because of a commitment to the Navy, they still ended up with a Hall of Fame center, and Dream Teamer, and a guy that'd eventually lead them to a couple of championships. And who said bolos were tacky?
Golden State's Cow Magnet (1993) – This was the year the Warriors ended up with the #3 pick when their record would've dictated only the #7 pick. Apparently, it was a cow magnet that made the difference. If you're like me and have no idea what a cow magnet actually is or does, it's an actual magnet that farmers feed their cattle to keep them from getting shrapnel stuck in their guts after grazing. Cows will eat anything, and the magnets attract little bits of barbed wire or nails or staples that they may have swallowed by accident. How this got into the hands of Don Nelson, I do not know. But it got the Warriors a really solid pick, which they ended up sending to Orlando along with two other first round picks for Chris Webber, who they then traded a year later for nowhere near market value. Maybe that cow magnet wasn't so lucky after all.
Kevin Pritchard's Ladybug Pendant (2007) – Despite only having a 5% chance of landing the top overall pick in that year's draft, the Blazers got the sweetest combination of ping pong balls to earn the right of choosing between Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Although in hindsight we know full well that Portland GM Kevin Pritchard chose incorrectly, nabbing the top selection with those odds is still admittedly pretty lucky. The Blazers sent Brandon Roy to be their lucky charm, but it's more interesting to note that Pritchard's daughter gave him an adorable little ladybug pendant for good luck.
Bucks Promotion Lands Them Bogut (2005) – Teams love sponsoring promotions that get their fans involved in some of the more intimate dealings of their organization, and in 2005, they ran a contest to see who could come up with the best lucky charm for the draft lottery. According to their record, Milwaukee would've picked sixth that summer, but thanks to a fishing lure submitted by sixteen-year-old Bucks fan Michael Millies, they won the 2005 lottery. In his contest application, Millies claimed that whenever he used that lure, he caught gigantic fish, and later that summer his favorite team caught the biggest fish in the draft—seven-footer Andrew Bogut, who, unlike some of the other guys on this list, actually has turned into a reasonably credible top overall pick.
Andy Roeser's "Sport" Coat (2009) – Even though Blake Griffin didn't play a single game in his rookie season, few believe that he won't end up being one of the most prolific players of his class. A year ago there was no question he was the top overall pick, and hoping to boost his organization's chances of landing the stud forward, Clippers team president Andy Roeser had a custom blazer made in which Griffin's #23 Clippers jersey was turned into part of the jacket. It looked like trash, but it worked. Who am I to judge?
NBA Top 5: Lotto Lucky Charms
The television coverage of last night's NBA Draft Lottery didn't spend a whole lot of time on lucky charms, but before announcing the draft order they did make sure to comment on how the late Wizards owner Abe Pollin's wife Irene was wearing his 1978 championship ring for luck. As the team with the fifth-worst record in the league, it came as quite a shock when Washington came up with the top pick.
Turns out that particular lucky charm worked. Abe would've been a happy guy.
Not everybody's charms worked, though; Danny Granger's John Wall Pacers jersey hidden under his white blazer didn't help their position, nor did Minnesota's custom-made Lucky Charms cereal boxes with the team's mascot on the front have much effect. Still, it's fun to see what these teams come up with, and that's why this week's NBA Top 5 takes a look at history's most notable (and sometimes ridiculous) draft lottery lucky charms.
Top 5 NBA Draft Lottery Lucky Charms
#5 – Red's Stogie Butts (1998) – This one makes the top five only because it's exactly the sort of classic lucky charm that all lottery representatives should bring to the event. It's not ridiculous, it's not a PR stunt, it's just a logical, lucky object to take along in hopes of sneaking into the top 3. Fortunately for Celtics GM Chris Wallace, this particular charm didn't work as planned. Wallace brought two half-smoked cigars from legendary Boston coach Red Auerbach, however those butts ended up yielding only the #10 pick. Why is that so lucky? Because Michael Olowokandi was the #1 overall pick that year. With the tenth selection, Wallace snatched up Paul Pierce.
#4 – Mr. Potato Head Likes White Chocolate (1998) – That same year, a Sacramento radio station held a contest to come up with a lucky charm idea for the Kings. Interestingly enough, the Kings could've taken Mike Bibby with that top overall pick and wouldn't have had to trade Jason Williams for him a few years later. Instead, the Kings ended up taking Williams at pick #7, and while they enjoyed some entertaining seasons with him at point guard, it wasn't until they made the deal for Bibby that they really started getting deep into the playoffs. In any event—Mr. Potato Head? Really? That was the best Sacramento radio listeners could come up with?
#3 – Dave DeBusschere and the Lucky Horseshoe (1985) – For the first ever draft lottery, Knicks legend Dave DeBusschere represented his former team on the night when they'd earn the right to draft Patrick Ewing, the prize of that year's class. Some claim the whole thing was set up in a conspiracy to get Commissioner David Stern's favorite franchise the top overall pick and a team-saving player, but that, of course, is pretty silly. What's only slightly less silly is the team's belief that a lucky horseshoe from On the Road Again—the pacing Triple Crown winner from that year—was enough to land the Knickerbockers the top overall selection. It did work, for whatever that's worth. Unless Stern really did rig the whole thing. In which case, never mind.
#2 – Pacers Call Upon the Spiritual World (1989) – Donnie Walsh, then the general manager of the Indiana Pacers, contacted several Indianapolis-area psychics and asked them to flood the psycho-sphere with positive vibrations. The idea was that this would please the gods of luck land the Pacers the top overall pick in that year's draft. Unfortunately, they didn't end up with any of the top three picks and were forced to select seventh. That yielded them George McCloud, but even had they gotten the top pick it would've been Pervis Ellison, so not a whole lot of love lost there. Perhaps the more troubling issue with this development is that psychics were proven not to be real.
#1 – Holy Virgin Mary Water from Lourdes, France (2007) – Greg Oden and Kevin Durant made this draft a particularly important one, and Minnesota was so desperate to sneak into the top two that they flew to France and trekked to a village where the Virgin Mary supposedly appeared in 1958. Whichever of the Wolves' unlucky interns had to make the journey came back with a vial of holy water from Lourdes and gave it to Randy Foye for the lottery event, but it did nothing to boost the team's chances. They stayed at pick #7 and ended up with Corey Brewer.
Honorable Mention:
Bolo Can You Go? (1987) – Thanks to a bolo tie clasp with a red chameleon imprinted on it, the San Antonio Spurs were able to take David Robinson with the first overall selection that June. That worked out well, because picks #2 and #3 ended up being Armon Gilliam and Dennis Hopson. Even though Robinson couldn't join the team until 1989 because of a commitment to the Navy, they still ended up with a Hall of Fame center, and Dream Teamer, and a guy that'd eventually lead them to a couple of championships. And who said bolos were tacky?
Golden State's Cow Magnet (1993) – This was the year the Warriors ended up with the #3 pick when their record would've dictated only the #7 pick. Apparently, it was a cow magnet that made the difference. If you're like me and have no idea what a cow magnet actually is or does, it's an actual magnet that farmers feed their cattle to keep them from getting shrapnel stuck in their guts after grazing. Cows will eat anything, and the magnets attract little bits of barbed wire or nails or staples that they may have swallowed by accident. How this got into the hands of Don Nelson, I do not know. But it got the Warriors a really solid pick, which they ended up sending to Orlando along with two other first round picks for Chris Webber, who they then traded a year later for nowhere near market value. Maybe that cow magnet wasn't so lucky after all.
Kevin Pritchard's Ladybug Pendant (2007) – Despite only having a 5% chance of landing the top overall pick in that year's draft, the Blazers got the sweetest combination of ping pong balls to earn the right of choosing between Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Although in hindsight we know full well that Portland GM Kevin Pritchard chose incorrectly, nabbing the top selection with those odds is still admittedly pretty lucky. The Blazers sent Brandon Roy to be their lucky charm, but it's more interesting to note that Pritchard's daughter gave him an adorable little ladybug pendant for good luck.
Bucks Promotion Lands Them Bogut (2005) – Teams love sponsoring promotions that get their fans involved in some of the more intimate dealings of their organization, and in 2005, they ran a contest to see who could come up with the best lucky charm for the draft lottery. According to their record, Milwaukee would've picked sixth that summer, but thanks to a fishing lure submitted by sixteen-year-old Bucks fan Michael Millies, they won the 2005 lottery. In his contest application, Millies claimed that whenever he used that lure, he caught gigantic fish, and later that summer his favorite team caught the biggest fish in the draft—seven-footer Andrew Bogut, who, unlike some of the other guys on this list, actually has turned into a reasonably credible top overall pick.
Andy Roeser's "Sport" Coat (2009) – Even though Blake Griffin didn't play a single game in his rookie season, few believe that he won't end up being one of the most prolific players of his class. A year ago there was no question he was the top overall pick, and hoping to boost his organization's chances of landing the stud forward, Clippers team president Andy Roeser had a custom blazer made in which Griffin's #23 Clippers jersey was turned into part of the jacket. It looked like trash, but it worked. Who am I to judge?